The Four EarthBound Ones
by TheBlueAvenger
Summary: Just when the dust had settled from Ness's adventure, a call for a new hero goes out... Chapter 2 up; contains minor spoilers about the end of EarthBound.
1. The Day of the Hero of the Earth

"The Four EarthBound Ones", chapter 1  
  
The year is 200X. 10 years have passed since Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo defeated Giygas and Pokey ran off, leaving a taunting note for Ness to find when he returned. Since then, Pokey has yet to show his face, and Ness is being hailed as a hero. Onett is holding its annual "Hero of Earth" festival on this day. However, we find a familiar scene in the suburbs of Onett.  
  
It is approaching dawn. A loud rumbling is heard from the heavens. Everybody in the house takes a look out of the window- a meteor is headed straight for that hill! CRASH! It lands with an earth shattering- "Joe! Turn off that movie! You've seen it so many times, you know Ness's life story! Besides, if you idolize Ness so much, why are you holding us up for the "Hero of Earth" festival? Ness's going to be there, and everything!" "Geez, alright, sis. I was just looking back at the movie, anyway. What if Ness decides to greet me? I've gotta be prepared to know anything about him!" Joe paused the video and joined his sister, Katy, at the front door. Clad in his finest T-shirt and shorts, Joe was a typical young teen. His brown, unruly hair waved in the slight breeze coming in from the doorway. This year, he was sure something special would happen at the festival. Joe was the exact same age as Ness was when that meteorite landed near his house. They even shared the same birthdays- something that Joe was sure was no coincidence. "Where are Mom and Dad?" he asked his sister. "Let's see. Mom's waiting for us down by the arcade, where the parade is going to be. and Dad. uh, he's still at the Monotoli Building, working," Katy replied. "I can't believe Dad's going to miss the festival again," Joe said, somewhat saddened, "but at least we can wave to him on TV. C'mon, we gotta go meet Mom!"  
  
Joe and Katy started off toward the city. Ever since Ness wiped out Giygas, 10 years ago, the animals became tame. Even though Joe was only 4 years old when it happened, he still remembered what it was like to have crows, snakes, and dogs attacking him when he left the house. Lately, though, the animals had become nervous and paranoid. Joe recalled what he learned about animals knowing about natural disasters, and figured that something big must be happening today. He told his sister. "Aw, Joe, it's all in your head. Nothing is going to happen today, except having a good time." "That's just it, Katy, I KNOW something will happen today."  
  
After a long discussion about Joe's sanity, the siblings finally made it to the arcade. Their mother seemed a little worried. "Oh, Joe, you must be so disappointed." "What? What happened?" Joe responded. "You don't know? Well, just minutes before you got here, they went to get Ness ready for his speech, and he was nowhere to be found. It's like he just. vanished. Oh, and they found his muddy footprints. It looked like he was spinning around in small circles," his mother explained. "Small circles? That sounds like Ness teleported away. I wonder if something big will happen today, like Joe says," said Katy. "Ness wouldn't leave unless something very big or very dangerous would occur." "Aw, man. I don't get to see Ness." Joe mumbled. "Chin up, honey. Look, here comes the parade!" his mother said in an attempt to cheer Joe up. Indeed, the parade was marching down the road in front of the arcade. Something, however, was different about it. "Huh, all of the marchers are wearing silver clothes and black masks. I wonder if they belong to some cult, like the old Happy Happyists," Joe's mother remarked. "Oh no- those aren't marchers. OH CRAP! Those are Starmen!" Joe screamed. He ran around trying to tell people, but his attempts were in vain. Everyone was convinced that they merely had costumes on. At least, they were convinced until the Starmen started destroying things. "WHERE - IS - HE? WHERE - IS - THE - ONE - WHO - KNOWS - OF - NESS?" The Starman in front stepped over to the shocked viewers. One of them pointed a shaking finger toward Joe. "T-t-that's him. J-j-j-joe knows a lot about N-n-n-n-ness." The Starman walked over to Joe and grabbed the collar of his T-shirt. "YOU - COME - WITH - ME - NOW!" it growled robotically. With that, it flew into the sky, with Joe in tow. Both Katy and his mother yelled up to the Starman, but to no avail. It was long-gone. 


	2. Pokey's Tale

The Four Earthbound Ones  
Chapter 2 Disclaimer: I don't own anything Earthbound related. But if I did, Mother 3  
would be out so fast it'd make your head spin.  
  
The Starman held a cold grip on Joe's collar. No matter how much Joe struggled, the Starman refused to relinquish its catch. His meager Psi attacks didn't even attract the attention of the metallic kidnapper.  
  
"GrraaaAAAH! You better let me go now, or Ness'll come and destroy you, he will!" Joe started screaming at the Starman. The Starman, however, only regarded him with a steely glare and continued to fly upwards. Eventually, Joe spotted something in the distance.  
  
"Wha-What is that?" Joe squinted at the object. "It's an airship! Maybe they can help me!" Joe began to yell. "HEEEELLLLLPPPPP! Over there! Save me from the Starman!" However, the Starman did not show the slightest bit of fear. Instead, it flew towards the flying fortress. When they got there, a hatch opened in the side of the ship with a steamy hiss. The Starman flew in, turned off its jetpacks, and started walking, still with Joe's collar still in hand.  
  
Soon, they came to another door. It opened, and Joe was surprised to find that the room was totally dark, save a pair of sinister-looking eyes glowing. Joe was even more surprised when a voice emanated from the darkness.  
  
"Hmmm. Ness is missing, eh? I assume he's looking for me; I guess he took my challenge seriously. 'Come and get me, loser.Spankety spankety spankety.' So long ago."  
  
"Ah! I know who you are!" shouted Joe. 'You're."  
  
Suddenly, before Joe could finish, a short, squat man stepped out of the darkness. His blonde hair was going gray in spots, even though he didn't look any older than, say, Joe's father, and the look upon his face suggested that he had seen too many things he hadn't wanted to see. The mysterious figure was wearing a white lab coat that was stretched tightly over his rather overly large stomach; a by-product of eating too much and not moving a lot.  
  
"Yes. I am Pokey Minch. 10 years ago, I foolishly challenged my neighbor, Ness, and in doing so, almost caused my own demise. Do you know, Joe, what happened in that final battle between him and Giygas?"  
  
"Um, well, I know that he kicked the crud out of you, and Paula's prayers eventually caused Giygas to die." Joe replied.  
  
"Yes, that's all I'd expect you to know. Not even Ness knew what I'm about to tell you: that wasn't Giygas he was praying at," Pokey continued.  
  
"Then who-"  
  
"It was me," Pokey stated simply. "Right before the battle, Giygas forcibly switched our minds- so that I was in the Devil's Machine and he was taunting Ness. That is why Ness heard so many things that he attributed to Giygas being insane. In truth, I was trying to warn him, with the 'Ness, Ness' bits and the 'It hurts, it hurts' lines. That rat of an evil entity told Ness that I was insane so that Ness wouldn't realize that Giygas was actually getting away in the Spider Mech."  
  
"But how," Joe asked, "are you still here, if it was you Ness killed, ten years ago?"  
  
"Well, just as Paula dealt the finishing prayer, our minds, for some reason, got swapped again, resulting in Giygas being the one dying," Pokey explained.  
  
"Oh. So, what do you need me for?" Joe asked.  
  
"Joe, what I need from you is simple. I need you to find Ness. For, you see, reports have shown that Giygas has risen again and is starting to wreak havoc along the outer edges of our Eagleland. This is what Buzz-Buzz was warning us about, so many years ago," and with this Pokey gestured behind him, at a TV screen. A news report was showing pictures of Summers, Fourside, Scaraba, and Toto being overrun by wild animals, possessed people, crazed road signs, and bloodthirsty automobiles. "I want Ness to re- defeat Giygas for me. I want revenge on that filthy skink. I want to make sure he doesn't pull that same, wretched stunt again. But, I need you help, Joe. I am in no state to find Ness myself. Joe, will you help me?"  
  
Joe thought for a moment, and then replied, "Pokey, I have decided."  
END CHAPTER TWO 


End file.
